FCC Rules Amateur Satellite Service is NOT Primary at 2400 MHz

This might be old news to some but I just came across it ...
In the Report and Order, available on the FCC's Web site,
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-105A1.doc
they say the Amateur Satellite Service will not be granted
Primary status at 2400-2402 MHz:
44. Our analysis regarding an amateur-satellite
service allocation at 2400-2402 MHz differs from the
case of terrestrial use in this band. The amateur-
satellite service currently operates on a NIB to
other services under international footnote 5.282,
not on a secondary basis as some parties suggest.
This means that these operations are on an equal footing
with Part 15 devices. As both the amateur and unlicensed
proponents recognize, the sensitivity of amateur satellite
receivers makes them more vulnerable to aggregate
interference from other users in this band. The 2400-
2402 MHz band is heavily used by both Part 15 and Part
18 devices, and, unlike terrestrial amateur operations,
amateur satellite receivers are at greater risk from
aggregate interference.
We thus conclude that an allocation for the amateur-
satellite service would be impractical and difficult
to implement, given the protection status afforded
ISM devices and the large number of Part 15 devices
that operate in the band. Further, maintaining NIB
status for the amateur-satellite service in this 2
megahertz band is consistent with the NIB status
that an amateur satellite system would operate under
from 2400-2450 MHz, so amateur satellite use of this
band is not prejudiced by our decision. Because we
are maintaining NIB status for the amateur-satellite
service, we will not place any restrictions on these
operations (e.g., downlink only operation as some
parties suggest).
----
Sent via amsat-bb@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org